Best Garbage I Ever Ate
by organanation
Summary: It's Leia's turn to make dinner. It all seems pretty straightforward...A few disasters in the kitchen later, she's got a burned hand, a bowl full of...something, one starving farmboy, and a smuggler with a flair for first aid. A hearty serving of fluff from our favorite space couple and their young jedi friend. (Pre-ESB)


_AN: We're back in the land of light-hearted fluff!_

She blew her bangs out of her eyes and continued to stir the batter. There was flour, sugar, and spices spilled all over the galley counter of Captain Solo's ship, and the sticky puddle on the floor may or may not have been caused by her, but this cake was _not_ going to get the better of Princess Leia Organa. She slid the pan into the heating element and started working on the meal to go with it.

 _How did I get roped into making dinner?_ She asked herself, slicing up some fresh tubers to add to the dehydrated rations they were having for dinner. Han had just returned from a supply run with a few fresh vegetables and the ingredients for a cake, a welcome change to the food they were accustomed to on the base (anything that spoiled less than a month ago was considered fine dining at that point). And it was Leia's turn to cook.

She pressed the blade of the knife hard onto the thickest part of the tuber and it clapped into the cutting board suddenly, sending the slice of the tuber flying. Leia set the knife down and quickly looked over her hands: no blood, that couldn't be all bad.

She opened the box of dehydrated rations and pulled out the package. Suddenly, there were powdered rations and bits of flimsiplast all over the counter. The box was apparently so old that the flimsiplast bag had started to disintegrate in the box, as it was designed to do to eliminate waste. Frowning, she swept the contents into a bowl to dispose of later, as the Falcon's disposal (among other things) was broken. She dug through the cabinets for a newer package.

This package was in better shape and Leia poured its contents into a pan, setting it on the heating element, slightly proud of herself. She poured out the recommended amount of rehydration fluid, spilling some into the garbage bowl. She dumped the fluid into the pot on the element and stirred the fluid together with the dehydrated food. Selecting a few seasonings out of the cupboard, she sprinkled in what seemed like a reasonable amount before adding the tubers to the mixture.

Just when Leia was ready to declare success, she burned her hand on the pot and managed to knock over the rehydration fluid in the process. Letting out a string of Corellian expletives that would have made Han proud if he had been in hearing distance, she reached for a paper towel. She sopped up the liquid and dumped the soiled towels into the garbage bowl. _Handy little thing_.

She ran her blistered hand under cold water for a few minutes, watching as the rations bubbled and the refuse in the garbage bowl began to disintegrate at the addition of the fluid-soaked paper towels. It was a pretty ingenious idea: make packaging that would dissolve to cut down on waste. That _did_ pose a problem, however, when the supply room flooded out…

Han walked into the galley, following his nose.

"Something smells good," he complimented, peeking over her shoulder, not a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "I'm not smelling _that_ , am I?" He asked skeptically, looking at the garbage bowl. Leia rolled her eyes.

"Of course not. There's dessert in the element," she scolded.

"You made dinner _and_ dessert, Your Worship? I haffta admit, I'm impressed." She huffed. He smiled at her disheveled appearance. Her shirt was covered in flour, and she had spices smeared on her cheek. "Looks good."

"Thank you." She responded sincerely. "Taste it." Leia handed him the spoon she'd stirred the cake batter with; he ran a finger across it at popped the batter in his mouth as she checked the timer.

"It _is_ good. Who are you and what have you done with her hignessness?" He asked. She smiled and ran her finger around the rim of the bowl.

"How _did_ I make this?"

"We'll never know," Han teased, smiling down at her. There was a smudge of batter on her hand, and before he knew what he was doing, he'd raised her hand to his lips and licked it cleanly off. Leia looked up at him, her surprise evident in her eyes. "Tastes good," he murmered, his voice an octave lower than normal.

He didn't relinquish her hand. She swallowed hard and looked up at him with large brown eyes. They stood, staring at each other, unmoving. The timer sounded loudly and suddenly, startling them both considerably. Leia pulled away to check her cake. Han strode quickly from the galley, and Leia heard him slamming around in the hold.

The cake wasn't quite done yet, so Leia put it back in and stirred the rations absently, trying to make sense of what had just happened. She went back and forth so much with Han, fighting to the death one minute and then shamelessly flirting the next. She knew that he was only partly to blame, that some of it lay with her. She was terrified of letting anyone in, of letting herself get attached to anyone, especially someone who refused to commit to the rebellion.

The cake appeared to be done when Leia checked it, so she pulled it out of the heating element. She stood, admiring how well the dessert had turned out, especially since she'd never done anything like it before.

Rieekan, who'd entered without Leia noticing, touched her on the arm and Leia shrieked and dropped the pan. Her delicious-looking cake was upside down on the floor in crumbles. The clatter of the pan on the durasteel and Leia's yell drew Han from the hold. She vaguely registered Han's presence; he and Rieekan spoke briefly to each other before the general hastened from the ship. All Leia could do was stare down at the mess on the floor. _This is what you get for being so proud of the damn thing,_ she thought to herself. Her mother had often warned her that 'pride cometh before the fall,' though Leia had never realized that Breha had meant it quite literally.

"We can still probably eat at least part of this," Han said, kneeling by the cake. Leia leaned against the counter as Han picked up a chunk. He bit off a mouthful and smiled. "See? Just fine." She was mad; he could tell. "Try some."

He broke off a piece and held it out to her. She ate it straight from his fingers, startling them both as her lips brushed his fingertips. She hadn't even considered how… _sexual_ such an action was.

"Good?" He asked gruffly, swallowing pointedly. She nodded, blushing furiously and averting her eyes.

Han knelt down with a plate and scooped up the cake. He picked a few wookiee hairs off and set it proudly on the counter.

"There. The kid'll never know." Leia couldn't help but giggle. He smiled warmly at her. They were staring at each other again, and Leia realized, not for the first time, that she really didn't mind looking at him. His golden eyes, the tilt of his chin… "Somethin's burnin'," he announced, sniffing.

"Damn," Leia muttered, stupidly reaching for the handle to pull it off the heat. "Ouch!" she hollered, burning the palm of her already-burned hand. Han flicked the heat off and stirred the contents a moment while Leia continued to nurse her hand. She could see a smart remark growing behind his eyes. "Don't say anything, Han." He left the room and came back a moment later with burn salve and a bandage.

"Let me see it." She didn't want help, didn't want to appear vulnerable, _especially_ to Han Solo, but _damn,_ it hurt. "This is going to hurt like hells," he warned, opening the salve and smearing it across the afflicted flesh. He wasn't wrong, and she bit into her bottom lip to keep from gasping. After a moment, however, the burning was replaced by a cool feeling. Luke walked in.

"What's going on?" He asked, blushing slightly when he saw Han holding her hand, the two of them pressed up in the corner of galley.

"Her worship can't cook," Han captioned, reaching past her for the bandage. He flashed a wicked grin at her unamused face.

"I'm sure it's not that bad," Luke comforted, digging through a drawer for a spoon. Leia watched, almost mesmerized, as Han dressed her hand with a tenderness she didn't know the rough smuggler possessed.

"There," he said when he was through, looking at her with an affectionate expression that she'd only seen on his face a few times.

The spell was broken when Luke began to choke. Han beat him on the back a few times, but Luke waved him off. "Little spicy, there, kid?"

"No, no. It's… it's great, Leia," Luke said, gesturing to the bowl she'd dumped the garbage into that was now filled with a disgusting combination of decomposing flimsiplast and spoiled rations.

"Luke, that's garbage."

"No, really, Leia. It's good," Luke assured her. Han looked from the bowl to the pot and then to Luke before bursting out laughing.

"Really, Luke, that's the bowl I put the garbage in," Leia explained. "The rations are in _that_ one." Han was still laughing a booming, contagious laugh, and Leia found it hard not to join him. Luke looked a little embarrassed at first, but soon began chuckling, himself.

"Best garbage I ever ate." Luke said.

 _AN: Please R &R! _

_Shout-out to my constant reviewers: you guys are amazing, and I appreciate your constant feedback and support! Thanks so much!_


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